UZI - AN ICON IN WORLDS POPCULTURE
Since the day one, the UZI submachine gun has changed dynamically as a weapon from the version with a wooden stock to today’s modern UZI PRO PISTOL. On the one hand, it has increasingly become the weapon of choice for many national armies and security forces around the world, and on the other hand, it has also increasingly become a flashy equipment of action heroes and actors in Hollywood movies.
The sales of more than two million pieces worldwide of brought UZI global popularity but the very presence of the UZI submachine gun in the army equipment was no longer the most common reference to the weapon as such.
UZI gradually gained the top spots of the music charts composed in the lyrics of more than 3600 songs, won film awards for co-acting in more than 200 films and hundreds of TV series, appealed to hundreds of video game players, but also attracted the attention of street art and modern art lovers where the UZI phenomenon is more than at just recognized.
UZI ON THE SILVER SCREEN
Fans of cinematography, mainly in the form of action films, dramas but also films based on real events, often recognize the specific shapet of the UZI submachine gun since their childhood thanks to its countless performances in the scenes of more than 200 world-famous films from movie productions all around the world.
In addition to films from the Hollywood studios, UZI also appears in films of French, Italian, Japanese, Russian or English productions and many other countries, which only confirmes its global stardom.
Rapid fire from an inconspicuous black weapon, which was destined for scenes from urban areas due to its performance and appearance, but also as equipment for VIP security guards and action heroes, is something that has subconsciously stuck in everyone’s memory. It is almost no exaggeration to say that there is no film where the action hero, the main villain or other armed characters did not shoot from the UZI submachine gun.
UZI is also one of the first submachine guns held by action heroes. until then, unthinkably, when firing in one hand, or even with an UZI in each hand for even more flashy rain of fire in heated action scenes.
Millions of fans around the world have never seen a real UZI submachine gun in their whole life, but if they had to paint it with their free hand, they would easily capture its main elements in the form of a short head, iconic handle with magazine and back from which empty cartridges fly out in an arc . The ability to recognize an object by its countour is also a powermark of an icon, which only confirms the superstar status of the UZI.
It is not a surprise that the UZI submachine gun appeared in many iconic movies and it was held by the hands of the very Hollywood elite of actors. UZI appeared in films alongside all conceivable action heroes or the villains who stood against them.
It is interesting to mention the connection of the duo of UZI + father and son, when in separate films UZI played a main weapon with Kirk and Michael Douglas, as well as repeated presence in several films from the James Bond series.
What is also exceptional is the ability of the UZI submachine gun to perform within the range from historical times, such as in movie Raid on Entebbe, Munich or Kippur, to futuristic films such as Terminator or even post apocalyptic performances in the future in Matrix Reloaded and Mad Max: Fury Road.
- Charles Bronson and UZI in the 1976 film Raid on Entebbe
- Jean Paul Belmondo and Raquel Welch in the 1977 film Stuntwoman
- Robert Shaw and UZI with a silencer in the 1977 film Black Sunday
- Christopher Walken and Paul Berenger in the 1981 film The Dogs of War
- Alain Delon and UZI in the film Tehran 1981
- Ed Harris and his shooting with UZI in the 1983 film Under Fire
- Robin Williams in the 1983 film Survivor
- Al Pacino and gangsters equipped with UZI submachine guns in the 1983 film Scarface
- Arnold Schwarzenegger and his shooting with UZI in the 1984 film The Terminator
- Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1985 film Commando
- Christopher Walken in the 1985 James Bond film: A view to a Kill
- Chuck Norris with UZI in each hand in the 1986 film The Delta Force
- Kirk Douglas in the 1986 film Tough Guys
- Emilio Estevez in the 1987 film Wisdom
- Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie True Lies again with two UZI at once
- Mark Carlton in the 1987 film Robocop
- Laurence Fishburne in the 1990 film King of New York
- Mel Gibson in the 1990 film Air America
- Chuck Norris and UZI for the second time in the 1990 Delta Force 2 film
- Richard Grieco in the 1991 film If Looks Could Kill
- Sophie Marceau and especially Israeli soldiers with UZI with a wooden barrel in the 1991 film For Sacha
- Michael Douglas and his memorable march through the streets with UZI in hand in the 1993 film Falling Down
- Jackie Chan in the 1993 film Crime Story
- Kevin Spacey and the 1995 film Usual Suspects
- Robert de Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci did not hold UZI in hand in the 1995 Casino film, but he appeared in several scenes in the hands of actor Frank Vincent.
- Queen Latifah in the 1996 film Set it off
- John Travolta in the 1997 film Face off
- Ralph Fiennes with a mini uzi in the 1998 movie Avengers
- Israeli soldiers with UZI with a wooden stock in the historical film Kippur from 2000
- Gansters with UZI in the film Ali G indahouse from 2002
- Eric Roberts in the 2003 film National Security
- UZI in several legendary shootouts in The Matrix Reloaded from 2003
- UZI in rebel scenes in the movie Tears of the Sun with Bruce Willis
- Israeli commando and UZI in the 2005 film Munich
- UZI also appeared in the Italian production of the 2008 film Gomorrah
- Vincent Cassel and UZI in both Mesrine: Killer instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy number 1
- Collin Farrel and UZI on the table in the 2008 film In Brugges
- UZI again in the Quantum of Solace bond from 2008 not in the hands of Daniel Craig, but in the hands of bodyguards from Haiti
- UZI again in the third part of Terminator 3 from 2009
- UZI and the post apocalyptic farmer in the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road
- UZI also starred in American Ninja, Robocop 3, The Third Planet, The Game and the great co-production movie Ronin.
- UZI also appeared in the modern television series Breaking Bad from 2009, The Sopranos from 1997, in the famous TV series The X-files.
- In historical television series, we also find a trail of UZI in the works of the unforgettable series Knight Rider with David Hasselhoff, Dempsey and Makepeace, Magnum P.I. with Tom Selleck and Peter Falk met him as the legendary Inspector Columbo as early as 1978
The duet including the UZI submachine gun and a fearless action or war hero worked great with names such as James Bond, Charles Bronson, Jackie Chan, Keanu Reeves, Chuck Norris, Michael Douglas, John Travolta, Vincent Cassel or Ed Harris and many other actors.
Among all the Hollywood actors, there is one legend of the industry who had fired more rounds with the UZI submachine gun than anyone else. He is none other than „The Governator“ Arnold Schwarzenegger.
During the shooting of the first Terminator movie, director James Cameron wanted to create a feel of a cold killing machine, which is why Arnold Schwarzenegger had only 17 short, dead-pan voice delivered lines throughout the whole film. There is no surprise that in scene number 7 taking place at gun dealer’s shop, one of the main orders from the Terminatior is …. „The UZI 9 millimeter“.
In follow-up scenes, Terminator let the UZI submachine gun do the most of the talking and letting go hundreds of shots. The strong connection and combination of Arnold with the UZI is so long lasting that in the world flimsy show business careers Arnie’s scenes with the UZI submachine gun lasted longer than the film careers of some other less fortunate actors.
The UZI submachine gun also has two curiosities in The Terminator. One is the fact that the UZI 9mm that the Terminator buys at the gun shop is a short-barreled weapon that was illegal to sell. The second is the presence of the creator of UZI – a major named Uziel Gal in the role of a special consultant for the film Terminator 2, where he taught the main female protagonist Linda Hamilton how to manipulate UZI, enter the room and fire the weapon.
UZI IN THE COLORS OF MODERN ART
The real life UZI submachine gun is of course black its features, materials and characteristics color are defined by a strict methodology for creating weapons according to the needs of the military and the weapon industry. In the world of arts, however, UZI has many colors and shapes and it became a first class modern pop icon. This fact is also confirmed by an infinite series artworks, paintings, installations, pop art posters but also gift items with the UZI theme, which includes everything from stickers to giant works with UZI of all sizes and shapes. The numbers speak for themselves; when you type the UZI ART connection into google, the result counts more than 25 million.
In addition to water guns, jewelery and souvenirs of all kinds, UZI has also successfully settled in top galleries, mainly due to its display in modern arts, pop-art posters and other eye catching installations. One of the most famous is, of course, the depiction of a Panda with two UZIs from the world-famous street art provocateur Banksy.
As it happens in creative process the frequent change of material substance and depiction is neccessary which gives us a chance of seeing an UZI made of pencils, or the beautiful ceramic submachine gun UZIs from the English artist with Norwegian roots Magnus Gjoen with antique motifs named „Pompeii Blue Art UZI“ and „Jasperwear UZI“ offered through Saatchi Art .
Another eye catching version of a ceramic UZI is named „Delfts Blauw UZI“ created by Dishess or a chocolate UZI called „Sugar Tax UZI“ from the Imbue studio.
Fans of both, the UZI and the modern art are also familiar with the installation of UZI made from empty gun shells in Linton Meagher’s work „My UZI weights a tonne I. and II.“
UZI plays a large part as a item in the offers of the largest online retailers of modern art, home decorations and art posters and it is depicted on several very impressive posters by Antony Micaleff, Michel Tompsett, Wolfgang Krell and other modern artists. Numerous UZI themed artworks are available at global retailers such as Fine Art America, Society6, Art Collectorz. The Artsy e-shop even has a registered trademark „shoeuzi“ with its own UZI series in the colors of ice cream Ben & Jerry`s, Nike or Louis Vuitton lookalike patterns.
UZI PLAYING TO THE BEAT
UZI also resonates with the music industry and has been mentioned in songs within various genres in several decades. The UZI refference appears in various forms in more than 3,060 lyrics of mostly hip-hop songs, 8 artists have the name UZI in their stage name and there is even 1 rap album with the name UZI directly in the title.
UZI in music also resonates from a global perspective as it appears in the lyrics of Russian, American, Serbian, Spanish, Brazilian, German, Ukrainian artists and many others in genre that can be best described as urban music.
From the point of view of the development of American society and the rise of hip-hop culture, the combination of UZI and rap protagonists formed as an inseparable couple. The name of this iconic Israeli submachine gun has been widely used by groups and performers in their often very harsh and direct lyrics, across the decades.
In the nineties it was mainly Wu-Tang Clan (UZI – Pinky Ring), Xzibit (Los Angeles Times), Ice-T (New Jack Hustler), Master P (Ghetto D), Fugees (Boo Baf), Wycleff Jean (Low Income) , Ice Cube (Everythang’s corrupt), KRS-One (Things is about to change) and UZI appeared on several albums of rappers and producers such as Nate Dogg (High come down), Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre (U better recognize).
In the era of the new millennium and beyond, there are also regular UZI references in lyrics from artists such as Lil Wayne (Multiple Flows), Redman (Hypnotize), Busta Rhymes (The Monument), David Banner (My Uzi), T-Pain (beat Built), Migos (Bad and Boujee), Young Thug (Gott he guap), A $ AP Ferg (Uzi Gang), Daddy Yankee (Party de Gangster), Young Thug & Lil Uzi (Fetti), The Game (Uzis and Grenades), Fat Joe (The Crackhouse), The Roots (I will not appologize), Future (Back Goin ‚Brazy and Groupies), Pharell Williams (Popular Demand).
However, references to UZI go beyond hip-hop and often also appear in pop and dance music and productions by famous DJs such as David Guetta (I Can only imagine), Jennifer Lopez (Medicine), Nicky Minaj (The way life goes), Nicky Jam ( Rockstar remix), Steve Aoki (Smoke my dope), Papa Roach and The Black Eyed Peas (Anxiety), LMFAO (Sorry for party rocking).
Besides the most common usage in rap music, UZI can also be found in rock, metal, and crossover genres in lyrics of artists and grups such as AC / DC (Big Gun), U2 (God Part II.), The sisters of mercy (Doctor Jeep), PnB Rock (Coupe) , Everlast (Blinded by the Sun), Lou Reed (Romeo had Juliette), Roger Waters (The bravery of being out of range), Marilyn Manson (Mind of a Lunatic), Manic Street Preachers (Peeled apples) and many others.
In terms of the frequency of references to this iconic Israeli-made submachine gun, natural number one user is the American hip-hop performer from Philadelphia, Symere Woods, better known under the stage name of „Lil Uzi Vert“, who became famous in 2016 for his single „Money Longer“. However, his position of UZI number one lyricist based on references to UZI are mostly based on the classic own name shout-out throughout the songs typicall for so many rappers.
When considering the natural use of the word UZI in lyrics, the absolute number one artist is Dwayne Michael Carter from New Orleans, USA, better known as Lil ‘Wayne, who used a rhyme containing UZI more than 200 times.
UZI IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
The UZI submachine gun is a regular video game equipment literally since the origin of this digital phenomenon. One of the first uses of UZI as part of the equipment of cute fighting worms is from a perfectly playable and memorable video game called „Worms“ from 1994.
The UZI submachine gun has since then appeared in various forms in dozens of modern video games. Most of the time it is depicted very faithfully, in futuristic games it is often shown in a supermodern design, or as the very historical version with a wooden stock. Modern combat and military themed games usualy work with the picture perfect latest version of UZI PRO PISTOL.
In several video games, such as Max Payne 3, UZI got even on to the cover of the game itself as the main co-actor of the mission in the game. The Max Payne series became famous for the so-called „bullet time“ feature move, also known as the matrix effect, which allows you to slow down time during an effective jump in the air and fire precise shots. No wonder that the UZI was perfect gun to do the job.
From the point of most appearances of the UZI submachine gun in videogames, the Worms game takes the first place. UZI submachine gun appeared in all parts of the game series with a total of a staggering 21 titles. UZI is also a regular part of the equipment in games from the Call of Duty series and GTA (Grand Theft Auto) series, and he also appeared in the iconic game Doom.
- Shadow Warrior
- Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
- S.W.A.T. 3: Close Quarters Battle
- Hitman: Codename 47
- Project IGI: I’m Going In
- Fallout Tactics
- Operation Flashpoint
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
- Splinter Cell
- The Sum Of All Fears
- IGI 2: Covert Strike
- Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
- Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
- S.W.A.T. 4
- Black
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Alliance of Valiant Arms
- 7.62 High Calibre
- Condemned 2: BloodShot
- Far Cry 2
- Left 4 Dead
- Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
- Tomb Raider: Underworld
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Wheelman
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
- Battlefield Play4Free
- Shadow Harvest: Phantom Ops
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
- State of Decay „Uzi“
- Payday 2
- Survarium
- World of Guns: Gun Disassembly
- Mafia III
- Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
- Wooden and folding stock
- Insurgency: Sandstorm
- Ghost Recon Breakpoint
- Terminator: Resistance (VG)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
In video games, as in real action, the UZI is also demanded for its hire rate of fire and it is a extremely useful part of the equipment of every virtual soldier or action hero. In purist discussions of weapons experts, you will often find references to a specific video games that have changed the properties of the UZI submachine gun by adding ten more shots to the magazine, or by reducing the rate of fire so that it does not dominate other weapons and make games more playable. This only proves that the UZI fanbase all around the world is aware of all the features and characteristics of the gun.
THE UZIEL "UZI" GAL AND HIS WORLD FAMOUS LEGACY
The inventor and creator of the legendary UZI submachine gun himself, an Israeli gun designer named Uziel Gal gained the reputation of a weapons expert right after introducing this sub machine gun to the public. Uziel Gal from the very start refused the fact that the weapon should carry his, but right after the initial tests and deployment in the equipment of the Israeli army, the natural use of the short name „UZI“ was unstoppable and the story of this submachine gun is forever connected with it and no one will call it otherwise.
Prior to the actual introduction of UZI into production, Uziel Gal was asked to include his submachine gun in the competition, where he faced fierce competitor in the form of the Kara weapon from the workshop of the designer and major of the Israeli army, Chaim Kara. After extensive tests, the inconspicuous UZI submachine gun manage to pass all the tests and won. And as its design has undergone rigorous gravel and dust resistance tests along with its place in the equipment of military forces through decades as part of security forces, it also passed the test ad a iconic part in modern arts, music, cinema and in the ever-growing video game and e-gaming industry, where it is constantly present since 1950 until today.
